Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Rain did not deter a massive crowd from gathering in Times Square to ring in the New Year Tuesday night with an estimated 1 million people in attendance.
The New Year's Eve celebration was met with rain earlier in the evening but the festivities carried on with live performances from country music artists Carrie Underwood and Mickey Guyton, pop legends TLC, the Jonas Brothers and others.
Underwood sang a medley of some of her biggest hits from throughout her career as the headliner for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2025. Some songs in the compilation are nearly 20 years old.
Confetti flew as the final minute of 2024 began while the New Year's Eve ball dimmed for the countdown to 2025 to begin. Fireworks erupted as the colorful symbol of a changing time flickered and descended toward the year 2025 emblazoned below. When it reached the bottom, "Auld Lang Syne" began, the crowd roared, millions of people embraced and the music transitioned to "New York, New York."
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Viewers around the world were able to watch the event live across multiple networks and on the Times Square Alliance live feed that began at 6 p.m. EST.
The rain began to fall in the early evening sometime after 7 p.m. EST. Tourists from around the country and the world remained as it lifted about an hour before the ball dropped.
"People have stood shoulder-to-shoulder here for hours waiting for this moment," Mark Santia, NBC News 4 New York host, said during the network's broadcast in the final minutes of 2024. "The weather, cooperating now, but what a night it's been. The rain was steady and there was lightning and thunder in the area. But the weather did not send people home."
Tuesday's was the 117th ball drop in Times Square, a tradition dating back to the turn of 1907 to 1908. That original New Year's Eve ball was a 700-pound iron and wood construction illuminated by 100 25-watt light bulbs.
The current ball is larger and more modern, measuring 12-feet in diameter and weighing 11,875 pounds. More than 32,000 LEDs light the ball with millions of possible colors and patterns.
